"Flashdance" was one of those movies that critics loved to hate. When it came out in the spring of 1983, the poison-pen reviews seemed to compete with each other in their vindictiveness.

"('Flashdance') is so loaded down with artificial screenplay contrivances and flashy production numbers that it's waterlogged," Roger Ebert wrote. "This is one of those movies that goes for a slice of life and ends up with three pies."

Audiences disagreed. "Flashdance" became the third-highest-grossing film of 1983 in the U.S. and earned a worldwide box-office gross of more than $100 million. And like other cultural touchstones, it spawned many trends: voluminous sweat shirts, fuzzy leg warmers, over-the-top dancing, big hair, a cinematic style characterized by quick cuts, dramatic lighting and saturated colors. And who knew that welding could be so sexy?

Three decades after its release, "Flashdance" is such an enduring cultural icon that a new musical version is touring nationally before going to Broadway. (It opens at the Segerstom Center on Tuesday for a two-week run.) That's a sign that the show's producers don't think a slew of Tonys or months of New York buzz are needed to sell this one – it's already got plenty of appeal.

The Register talked recently to Tom Hedley, who came up with the original concept for the movie and co-wrote the script. Hedley adapted his story for the live musical version, which differs slightly from the film and features 10 new songs by Toronto composer Robbie Roth.

Orange County Register:Where did the idea for "Flashdance" come from?

Tom Hedley: When I was working as a journalist in Toronto, one of my closest friends was artist Robert Markle. He was an abstract expressionist but held on to figurative painting. The power of the female figure was something he couldn't ignore. In the early 1980s he found these bars, one in particular, where there was a new kind of dancing. He said, "You have to understand this is my Sistine Chapel here." He would sketch in the background. It was a blue-collar bar, a neighborhood bar, a little place where the girls could get creative. I realized later that it was the beginning of the MTV generation. They did this modern burlesque, a parody of stripping. It was an attempt to rethink and modernize the style.

Register:Is it true that Bob Fosse was the first to suggest that it would make a good musical?

Hedley: Yes. After I wrote the script I was able to get a couple of meetings with him. He read it and said, "This has two things going for it. It has a working-class heroine, a great lead, and also it had this great setting, an industrial arena. It's very theatrical. It will never work as a movie. Forget the movie and come back and we will develop it for the stage." But by this time I had already cashed the check from Paramount. They said, "We're making a movie, not a musical." That was that.

Register:Fosse wasn't the only director to turn down this script, correct?

Hedley: Fifteen directors turned it down. Finally we got Adrian Lyne to read it. He had done a film called "Foxes." Everyone knew he had this fabulous look, a really beautiful visual aesthetic. "Foxes" is about girls growing up in the San Fernando Valley. Though it didn't do well at the box office, people in the industry were impressed with it. He was reluctant to take the job but finally did. He told us that he had to do it his way. Thank God he did.

Register:You weren't initially enthusiastic about doing a live musical version of "Flashdance," were you?

Hedley: Theater is a totally different art form. In the film the editing was everything. Most of my story ended up on the cutting room floor. I had structured the show on these big production numbers. It is hard to cut in and out of that. They ended up cutting the story to the bone. They had body doubles flying through the air doing all these impossible things. On the stage it has to be a much more honest thing. It has to happen in front of your eyes. I knew it would be hard to adapt. But (director-choreographer) Sergio Trujillo has done some amazing things.

Register:There are 10 new songs in the musical. What are they like?

Hedley: I'm not a guy who really likes to stroll down memory lane. For me the '80s never really ended, musically at least. I wanted a young composer. We got Robbie Roth from Toronto. He's about 30, so he was not around in the '80s. I said, "Just do '80s music the way you think it should sound." I wanted fresh ears on it. I didn't want a "Rock of Ages" take on '80s style that was heavy on the parody.

Register:Are there any other changes?

Hedley: In the film I did very little work on Nick, the male lead. I was obsessed with the girl, Alex. So you saw him sort of sitting in scenes looking at her all the time. This time I wanted to make the love story really work. It's a class story: (A member of) the 1 percent falling in love with (a member of) the 99 percent. We had to really flesh this out and make it seem real.

Register:Will there be other changes before the show goes to Broadway later this year or early next year?

Hedley: On Broadway you get more money to spend. Your casting becomes more star-conscious. And we will be revising the show from now until then. The set contains 2,000 pieces of video; it's fantastic. It will be even better when we open on Broadway.

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